Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mt. Desert Island Marathon Race Report - BQ!!!

First, the good stuff. I qualified for Boston! Time was 3:14:33, good enough for 39th place out of 780, and 5th out of 60 in my age group. I broke my previous PR by more than seven minutes (old one was 3:21:37, also at MDI). I'm pumped, stoked and incredibly thrilled. My plan worked great.

Key points:
- Father, brother, Ryan, Danielle, Kate and her parents were all out there following me around and cheering me on. That was huge.
- Weather was perfect. Lower 40s to start, maybe mid-50s to end and sunny. Bit windy, but not terrible and wasn't really an issue.
- My plan to bank time and then take out deposits in the final six miles paid off. This course is hilly as hell, and miles 21-25 has a series of grueling uphills with only a few leveled out parts in between each climb. As a result, most people really slow down here.
- I skipped all but two water aid stations, thanks to my brother handing me a 22 ounce handheld water bottle at key spots. I'd run with it for 4-5 miles, then give it back. That worked excellent.
- Only took one Gu packet and two cups of Gatorade and was fine.

Mile by mile breakdown:
1- 7:16 Good.
2- 7:15 Great.
3- 7:13 Sweet.
4- 7:14 Awesome.
5- 7:10 Cool.
6- 7:17 Killer.
7- 7:17 Turn off on some backroads in this mile.
8- 7:19 Brother hands me water bottle. My dad, Kate, her parents, Ryan, Danielle are all here cheering.
9- 7:22 Bit slower, big hill.
10- 7:27 Bigger hill. Actually said "Eeeeew." out loud when I saw my split.
11- 7:17 That's better.
12- 7:11 Gave brother empty water bottle. Gradual downhill here, easy to go fast.
13- 7:12 Fantastic.
13.1 - Time was 1:34:22. Saw Blaine here who was checking off relay runners and gave him a high five.
14&15- 7:19 average (forgot to hit lap button) - On Sargent Drive. Wind is hitting us head on.
16- 7:18 - Good.
17- 7:28 - Getting slower. Downed a Gu. Brother hands me water bottle again.
18- 7:26 - Yep, can't pick up the speed. Slowing down sooner than I had hoped, but plenty of time in the bank.
19- 7:35 - Hills.
20- 7:40 - More hills. From here on out, easy to calculate times. Knew I could still go around 8:00/mile the rest of the way and still BQ. Handed empty water bottle back to brother.
21- 7:39 - Now the ass kicking hills begin.
22- 7:47 - Keep pushing dammit. Drank a cup of Gatorade for insurance against cramps.
23- 7:37 - C'mon dude. These hills are tough, but go man go.
24- 8:09 - One of the steeper climbs here, trying to keep it going.
25- 7:28 - Ryan was at the top of the final big hill, yelling at the top of his lungs that I have my BQ but to keep pushing. HUGE mental push, thanks to him. Downhill begins!
26- 7:33 - Downhill then flattens out a bit, but quads are wicked sore and hard to push.
Final .2 - 7:09/mile pace. There's the finish line! BAM!

I crossed the finish line exhausted and with nothing left. My dad immediately came up and gave me a big hug, followed by Ryan and then Kate. This was great, and served the secondary purpose of keeping me on my feet because my legs were dead and I was exhausted.

I was thrilled and still am thrilled. This race could not have gone any better. So stoked to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and do it on this course to boot. I've always wanted my first BQ to be here, and after years of daydreaming of that, the day has finally arrived. So.. f-ing.. pumped!!!

I think I've told you congratulations in 3 different forms today, but here it is again: way to f-ing go. My favorite part of the second picture is the lady in the space blanket stretching in the back ground. She looks stunning. Great job today, and I'm very excited you accomplished something you've been working towards for so long. That must feel amazing!

Well done Jamie fantastic achievement and great PB - I knew you had it in you. And spot on for keeping on your toes and getting the all important registration for Boston 2011. Hope the buzz last for a few months.

Awesome job Jamie! Very good on not letting the pace drop too badly on those final killer hills. The downhill for mile 26 is definitely a quad buster. I've never been able to pick up the pace much at the bottom of it even though the finish line is less than 1/2 mile away. Congrats on the PR, BQ, and actually getting into the race too!